''Perry v Truefitt'' (1842) 6 Beav. 66 is the English case in which the

tort A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with cri ...

passing off Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trade mark rights. The tort of passing off protects the Goodwill (accounting), goodwill of a trader from misrepresentation. The law of passing off prevents one trader f ...

was first articulated by the court.

Background

Mr Leathart made a hair treatment product and showed the mixing process to Mr Perry, a perfumer and hairdresser, who decided to call the mixture "Medicated Mexican Balm" and marketed the mixture under the title "Perry's Medicated Mexican Balm". Mr Truefitt, one of Perry's competitors, made a product that was very similar to Perry's mixture, which he marketed under the name "Truefitt's Medicated Mexican Balm", using bottles and labels that looked like Perry's product. Perry filed a bill against Truefitt, arguing that the name "Medicated Mexican Balm" was valuable to his business and that he should have exclusive right to prevent others from using it.

Decision

The Court denied Perry the right to the name. However, Lord Longdale held that

misrepresentation In common law jurisdictions, a misrepresentation is a False statements of fact, false or misleading''Royal Mail Case, R v Kylsant'' 931Question of law, statement of fact made during negotiations by one party to another, the statement then in ...

can be grounds for an injunction, stating that "a man is not to sell his own goods under the pretence that they are the goods of another man".

Background

Decision

References

See also